1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a method for preparing brewed coffee utilizing an infusion coffee bag containing roasted and ground coffee. The infusion coffee bag is immersed in water and microwave heated to produce a high quality coffee brew in a short period of time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been desired to provide the consumer with a coffee bag product which might be used in the same fashion as the conventional and popular tea bag and which would produce a high quality coffee beverage. Previous attempts of merely placing roast and ground coffee in lieu of tea in standard filter paper infusion bags have not proven successful. One of the difficulties encountered is that the time required to produce a flavorful cup of coffee beverage is considerably longer than that for tea.
One method of decreasing the time to produce a coffee beverage is to increase the porosity of the infusion coffee bag. The increase in porosity, however, also permits increased amounts of coffee grounds to escape thereby producing accumulations of sediment in the cup.
Another method for decreasing the time to brew a coffee beverage is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,565 to Einstman et al. In this patent a coffee brewing bag similar to that employed with ordinary tea is packaged with roasted and ground coffee. The roasted and ground coffee is combined with a defoaming agent to disperse foam generated within the bag to improve the rate of extraction of the coffee material. The coffee bag is placed into a cup and hot boiling water is added. While the rate to produce a coffee beverage is improved the expense is increased by adding the defoaming agent.
Another method of producing a coffee brew is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,957 to Freedman et al. In this patent a coffee brewing appliance is described which is subjected to microwave heating. This invention, however, does not lend itself to the convenience of quickly preparing a single serving of coffee brew. The patent further mentions making coffee by boiling water in a microwave oven and then adding instant coffee but indicates this makes inferior coffee.
Accordingly, the need exits for a method of producing a coffee beverage in a simplified and inexpensive manner from a coffee infusion bag which yields a high quality coffee beverage in a short period of time.